A. Objectives

Whilst infrastructures like buildings, laboratories, and equipment typically suggest an educational institution’s competence, it is without a doubt that its human resource is its lifeblood. Hence, while striving to upgrade physical facilities and equipment, it is a must for any educational organization to uplift the quality of its faculty members, that is, the inevitable need for faculty development.

Faculty development can be defined as the process of “providing professional development training and coaching to faculty members to help them improve their work performance”. Though usually focusing on teaching skills, improvement of course content, and personal development, it may encompass the upgrading of research, extension, and administration skills. Moreover, faculty members of Pangasinan State University are mandated to perform a so-called four-fold function – instruction, research, extension, and production. Thus, defining faculty development as a holistic process of upgrading the instruction, research, extension, and administration skills of faculty members seemingly fit the scenario.

The Mathematics and Natural Sciences Department is a constituent organization of the Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta City Campus. The Department is tasked to supervise one of the programs offered by the Campus, the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics program. In addition to supervising the said program, the Department also holds the crucial role of honing the students’ mathematical and natural sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) skills, as its members teach across all ten programs of the Campus.

Being a part of an institution that seeks to uphold the quality of service to its clientele, the current and future members of the Department should be continuously provided with mechanisms and opportunities leading to continuous growth across the different facets of being a faculty member…” (Department Faculty Development Plan 2021-2025).

In reference to the University Faculty Manual and taking into consideration the current profile of the Department, the following serves as the objectives of the Faculty Development Plan.

1. Expose each faculty member to at least one seminar/training per year.
2. Encourage faculty members to be part of at least one professional organization.
3. Temporary faculty members are encouraged to pursue master’s degrees.
4. Permanent faculty members are encouraged to pursue doctorate degrees.
5. Faculty members are encouraged to venture into research activities.
6. Faculty members are encouraged to venture into extension activities.
7. Faculty members are encouraged to venture into administrative designations.

The first four objectives can be summarized as the instructional development goals, primarily aimed to enhance the teaching capabilities and content-mastery of the faculty members of the Department. The fifth, sixth, and seventh goals can be referred to as the research development, extension development, and leadership development goals respectively, somewhat coinciding with the four-fold function of faculty members of the University.

Moreover, these objectives coincide with the indicators of the National Budget Circular (NBC) 461, the criteria for the promotion of faculty members. Thus, while believing that these objectives lead to a holistic upgrading of the faculty members, it would also ultimately lead them into promotion.